The River is Here: Bayou District facing tough foes
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October 1, 2013
Nicholls State women’s basketball coach Dobee Plaisance has big plans for the upcoming season.
The Nicholls coach has said repeatedly that her team has a clear goal of winning the Southland Conference Championship and pushing itself into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
Before that goal becomes attainable, the 2013-14 version of the Colonels will be tested against one of the most challenging non-conference schedules in the entire conference.
The Colonels announced their 2013-14 schedule this week – a challenging set of games that will take the team across the country and will pit Nicholls against some of the top programs in the country – a list of elite foes that includes annual championship contenders like Baylor and Texas A&M.
Nicholls opens its season Nov. 8 in the friendly confines of Stopher Gymnasium – a home game with SUNO.
But after that game, the Colonels travel to Waco and take on Baylor — one of the perennial favorites to win the NCAA Tournament.
Two weeks after the Baylor game, Nicholls will take the road again – this time off the United States mainland and into the icy mountains of Alaska.
The Colonels will compete in the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaskan Shootout from Nov. 26-27.
While in Anchorage, Alaska, the Colonels will take on Georgetown and one other foe – an opponent that will be determined by the event’s bracket.
Once home from the land of ice and snow, Nicholls will host Louisiana Tech on Dec. 2. They will then travel to take on powerhouse Texas A&M on Dec. 17 before playing in the Hatters Classic from Dec. 20-21.
Nicholls rounds out non-conference play on Dec. 29 against Southern Miss.
“We intentionally have an extremely demanding non-conference schedule in order to prepare for conference,” Plaisance said. “With road games at national powerhouses Baylor and Texas A&M, along with matchups at South Alabama and Southern Miss and a home date against Louisiana Tech – our schedule is very steep.”
Once in league games, the Colonels will open with four of its first six Southland games at home – a chunk of games that will take UNO, Southeastern Louisiana, Houston Baptist and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi into Thibodaux.
But Nicholls will also play six of its final nine games of the season on the road.
The Colonels figure to be a contender in the conference this year. Nicholls lost just one starter (Alisha Allen) from last year’s 19-win team.
Plaisance said Allen’s loss is a big one, but the team will be ready to tackle its challenging schedule.
Nicholls returns key players like KK Babin, LiAnn McCarthy and Emani White from last year’s group.
“First of all, it’s a different look without Alisha Allen out there,” Plaisance said. “I really do miss her and everything that she contributed to our program. However, pairing up our veterans with our newcomers and freshmen, we will be ready to face the challenges of our aggressive non-conference schedule.”
